Dear readers,
For the phrase‘jung yi’ meaning ‘like’which character is correct 鍾 (zung1), ‘a kind of wine container’ or 鐘 (zung1) ‘a bell’? I’ve seen both charaters used in different books. So, is it 鍾意 (zung1 ji3) or is it 鐘意 (zung1 ji3)?
Or, are both correct, but, one more popular than the other?
Kobo-Daishi, PLLA.

This confuses a lot of Cantonese, too.
I think 鍾意 is logically correct since 鍾 means to adore, to like, etc., but you would notice that some people use 鐘意 instead.
Since this expression is very informal, we don't use it in formal writing at all, so it doesn't really matter that much.
By the way, are you Japanese? I'm looking for native Japanese who can help me in the Japanese language.
: Dear readers,
: For the phrase‘jung yi’ meaning ‘like’which character is correct 鍾 (zung1), ‘a kind of wine container’ or 鐘 (zung1) ‘a bell’? I’ve seen both charaters used in different books. So, is it 鍾意 (zung1 ji3) or is it 鐘意 (zung1 ji3)?
: Or, are both correct, but, one more popular than the other?
: Kobo-Daishi, PLLA.

Dear Daniel,
No, not Taishan 泰山 (Mand: tai4 shan1, Cant: taai3 saan1) in Shandong province 山東省 (Mand: shan1 dong1 sheng3: Cant: saan1 dung1 saang2), the most famous of China’s five sacred mountains, worshipped as a god and regarded as the origin of all life by some.
The Taishan that I am talking about is Taishan 台山 (Mand: tai2 shan1, Cant: toi4 saan1), a city in Guangdong province 廣東省 (Mand: guang3 dong1 sheng3, Cant: gwong2 dung1 saang2).
The Taishan dialect 台山話 (Mand: tai2 shan1 hua4, Cant: toi4 saan1 waa6) is unintelligible to speakers of Cantonese and Mandarin. It belongs to the Yue 粵 (Mand: yue4 Cant: jyut6) dialect group, along with Cantonese.
Many people mistakenly call the Taishan dialect a dialect of Cantonese. In a sense, it is, if you mean Cantonese as the province of Guangdong. Actually, it should be called a dialect belonging to the Yue group of dialects. As Jerry Norman in his book “Chinese” states, “The term Cantonese, which is sometimes used interchangeably with Yue, should be reserved for the dialect of the city of Guangzhou 廣州 (Mand: guang3 zhou1, Cant: gwong2 zau1) and not used as a general name for the group as a whole”
At one time the Taishan dialect was the dominant Chinese speech in America. Now, it is probably near the bottom. According to most sources there are only about 2 million speakers of this dialect in the world, about 1 million within China and 1 million without China. Another source says 4 million, but, I think that’s more wishful thinking than fact.
If you want to know more about Taishan city, go to:www.taishan.com
Kobo-Daishi, PLLA.
P.S. The Chinese characters for the fictional character“Tarzan” are the same ones for Mount Tai, 泰山.

Dear Kobo-Daishi,
I am from Hong Kong and have been living in US for about 7 yrs. Nice to meet you.
Sallin
: Dear Sallin,
: I am actually an American of Chinese ancestry. I speak the Tai Shan dialect of Chinese.
: Kobo-Daishi, PLLA.

I think 鍾意 is logically correct since 鍾 means to adore, to like, etc., but you would notice that some people use 鐘意 instead.
Since this expression is very informal, we don't use it in formal writing at all, so it doesn't really matter that much.